Courtesy photoDawid Strucinski, center, with friends. His father, Peter Strucinski, said that Dawid open his eyes for a few minutes and responded to a verbal command.

Dawid Strucinski, the Bayonne 22-year-old man brutally beaten while going to help his friend, opened his eyes for a few minutes on Monday, bringing hope to his family, his father said.

Speaking by phone from his son's bedside at the Jersey City Medical Center, Peter Strucinski, 45, who with his wife have been with their son since he was admitted to hospital, said that his son opened his eyes for roughly five minutes yesterday and held up two fingers in response when asked to, but has remained unconscious since then.

"We asked him to show two fingers and he was able to respond," Peter said. "This was a very good sign he may be getting better."

Dawid Strucinski, a recent Rutgers University graduate, has been in a coma at the Jersey City Medical Center ever since the attack that occurred at about 3 a.m. July 3 near the Quick Chek at 12th Street and Broadway.

He was beaten after he rushed to help a friend who was being harassed by a group of nine boys and four girls, police said.

So far six teens -- two girls, ages 14 and 17, three 16-year-old boys and a 15-year-old boy -- have been arrested in connection with the incident.

The three 16-year-old Bayonne boys are all charged with aggravated assault, endangering a victim, and rioting, and one of them is additionally charged with second-degree theft, Scianni said. The 15-year-old boy, arrested today, is charged wth endangering an injured victim and with rioting.

The teen girls are both charged with endangering an injured victim and with rioting, he said.

Peter said that brain scans show that his swelling in his brain has not increased, and despite a broken cheek bone and cuts on his face, Dawid's appearance has much improved.

"All around his condition has improved," Peter said. "We are hoping that in the next few days we will see progress."

Despite the hopeful signs, age and fitness, doctors told the family that they do not know yet his prospects of a full recovery -- which in any case may take a long time.

Peter Strucinski, a private tennis coach, said that the family is going through an emotional roller coaster and Dawid's 16-year-old sister has taken it hard.

"We have up and downs," Peter Strucinski said. "We are joking and then and hour later we are crying like babies. This is a very painful process."

Dawid, who recently graduated with majors in criminal science and political science from Rutgers University, is interested in joining the police force or entering politics.

"He is a very bright student," Peter said. "This is a boy who every parent will be proud of."

Peter said in some respects he blames himself for what happened to his son.

"I teach him that if he sees a person suffering he has to help. When he saw his friend suffering and being beaten he did not hesitate to help. This is my ideal of a child. If I had taught him to run away then maybe he would have run away."

Close friend Steve Grau, 23, and his friends have raised more than $27,000 so far to support the family for medical expenses Bayonne Community Bank has donated $1,000, Grau said.

"I amazed to see how the young people have behaved," Peter said. "He has an awesome group of awesome friends. If some day they need help I will available to help as long as I live. What they have done is amazing, quite amazing."

Anyone with information about this crime should contact Bayonne police detectives at (201) 858-6925 or call the confidential tip line at (877) 900-8477.